it's all about the economy. >> reporter: more than half the country already started voting days before the first presidential debate. more numbers now. gallup is reporting the president's approval rating is sticking at 50%. and this could turn out to be his best month in a year. >> tracie potts for us in washington. thank you. >>> last night on the rachel madow show bill burton talked to racel about the impact or lack thereof super packs are having on the romney campaign. >> on the republican side, the story they tell about mitt romney is there is no story about mitt romney. the story they tell about barack obama is well he's always bad things. if you're trying to figure out well what is it that -- what's the strategy here? how are we trying to win this race? it's more difficult on their side. that's why they're so inefficient with their money. spending is a wreck. message is all over the place. that's why they're not having as big an impact and people thought they would. >> don't miss the unique take on politics and all the top stories on the rachel madow show at 9:00 eastern, the pla